RIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF SPIRAL DYNAMICS

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SPIRAL DYNAMICS

According to Graves (1970, p. 132) a person’s behaviour needs to be explained according to his or her levels of existence. Graves described this view as follows:
“1. That man’s nature is not a set thing, that it is ever emergent, that it is an open system, not a closed system.
2. That man’s nature evolves by saccadic, quantum-like jumps from one steady state to another.
3. That man’s values change from system to system as his total psychology emerges in new form with each quantum-like jump to a new steady state of being”. According to this view, a person changes his or her psychology as his or her conditions of existence change. This model describes, explains, and suggests means for managing the biopsychosocial development of the species homo sapiens (Graves, 1981).

Characteristics of the Various Levels

First Subsistence Level: Automatic Existence, Reactive Values (‘A-N’ or ‘Beige’) According to Graves (1981), the first subsistence level is that of AN or an Autistic Existential state. The theme for this state of existence is to express the self as if it is just another animal according to the dictates of one’s imperative periodic physiological needs. People at this level seek only the immediate gratification of their basic physiological needs, and can be described as being in an automatic stateof physiological existence. A person is a simple, reflex-driven organism who lives through the medium of his or her built-in equipment. His or her awareness excludes him- or herself and is limited to the presence of physiologically determined tension, when present, and the relief of such tension. His or her awareness thus includes only a need-based concept of time and space. A person does not have to rise above this level to continue the survival of the species. This is purely a physiological existence (Graves, 1970). The human at this level is just another animal. There is no
awareness of the self as separate and distinct from other animals. There exist only a home territory concept of space, an imperative need-based concept of time, and there is no concept of God, the gods, the universe or the like. During this phase people are motivated only by the degree of satisfaction of the imperative, periodic physiological needs such as hunger, thirst, and sex. There is no show of organised or planned work effort, and no concept of leadership or managership (Graves, 1981). A productive lifetime would include the ability of his/her built-in response mechanisms to reduce the tensions of his/her imperative physiological needs. This level of existence is rarely seen today, except in rare instances or pathological cases (Graves, 1970). All humans lived in this system 40 000 years ago and earlier. It still exists in remote cases in the world today, but it is found mainly in a pathological form in our world (Graves, 1981).

The Existentialist Critique of the Phenomenological Standpoint

The Existentialists’ criticisms of pure phenomenology were mainly developed out of dissatisfaction with Husserl’s philosophy, and this is why Husserl’s point of view is so important to understand. To understand the Existentialists’ critique, we also need to look at their debt to Husserl’s work. “So near and yet so far”, might summarise the Existentialists’ verdict on Husserl. The key to understanding the relationship between consciousness and the world is to be found in Husserl’s writings, but as Sartre judged, he “misunderstood the essential character” of his insights and ended up with conclusions so far away from the truth as can be imagined (Being and nothingness, 1956, p.11).

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Existential Phenomenology

Existential Phenomenologists shift the emphasis away from the question “What is knowledge?” to a very different question “What is it to be a person?” The Existential phenomenologist’s primary interest is what people are and do, rather than what they can and do know. In this Existential Phenomenology is not a rejection of Husserl, but rather a redirecting of his philosophy (Solomon, 1972).

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CHAPTER 1: SPIRAL DYNAMICS
ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF SPIRAL DYNAMICS
GRAVES’S THEORY
SPIRAL DYNAMICS ACCORDING TO BECK AND COWAN
Historical development
The seven principles of Spiral dynamics
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VARIOUS LEVELS
First Subsistence Level: Automatic Existence, Reactive Values (‘A-N’ or ‘Beige’)
Second Subsistence Level: Tribalistic Existence, Traditionalistic Values (‘B-O’ or ‘Purple’)
Third Subsistence Level: Egocentric Existence, Exploitive Values (‘C-P’ or ‘Red’)
Fourth Subsistence level: Saintly Existence, Sacrificial Values (‘D-Q’ or ‘Blue’)
Fifth Subsistence Level: Materialistic Existence, Materialistic Values (‘E-R’ or ‘Orange’)
Sixth Subsistence Level: Sociocentric Existence, Sociocratic Values (‘F-S’ or ‘Green’)
First Being Level: Cognitive Existence, Existential Values ( ‘A’-N’ ‘ / ‘G-T’ or ‘Yellow’)
Second Being Level: Experientialistic Existence, Experientialistic Values (‘H-U’ or “Turquoise’)
CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 2 :EXISTENTIALISM AND PHENOMENOLOGY
WHAT IS PHENOMENOLOGY?
PHENOMENA AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL DESCRIPTION
FROM PHENOMENOLOGY TO EXISTENTIALISM
The Existentialist Critique of the Phenomenological Standpoint
EXISTENTIAL PHENOMENOLOGY
The Epoché Reconsidered
The Question of Being
Self-estrangement
Angst
Absurdity
Consciousness
Freedom
Existential Ethics
SUMMARY
CHAPTER 3 : DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
BASIC CONSTRUCTS AND DEFINITIONS
Closed and Open Profiles
The Two Opposite Sides of the Spiral
EXCEPTIONS IN PROFILES: DEALING WITH CHANGE
Changes Over Time
GRAVES, FACTICITY AND TRANSCENDENCE
AGE APPROPRIATE PROFILES
FACTOR ANALYSIS ON THE LENS
EXAMPLES OF LENS PROFILES
Profile A
Profile B
Profile C
Profile D
Profile E
Profile F
Saturation
CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION
FUTURE RESEARCH
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
APPENDIX
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF THE SPIRAL
ACCORDING TO BECK AND COWAN
BEIGE
BEIGE/purple: Exiting phase
PURPLE
beige/PURPLE: Entering Phase
PURPLE: PEAK PHASE
PURPLE/red: Exiting Phase
RED
purple/RED: Entering Phase
RED: Peak Phase
RED/blue: Exiting Phase
BLUE
red/ BLUE: Entering Phase
BLUE: Peak Phase
BLUE/orange: Exiting phase
ORANGE
blue/ORANGE: Entering phase
ORANGE’s Peak phas
ORANGE/green: Exiting phase
GREEN
orange/GREEN: Entering phase
GREEN: Peak phase is described in ‘Fuzzy’ concepts like
YELLOW
green/YELLOW: Entering Phase
YELLOW: Peak Phase
YELLOW: Exiting Phase
APPENDIX
LENS QUESTIONNAIRE RESEARCH
STANDARDISATION SAMPLE
ITEM ANALYSIS AND INTERNAL CONSISTENCY OF SCALES
VALIDITY
INTERGROUP COMPARISONS
GENDER
POPULATION GROUP
IPSATIVE MEASUREMENT
DEFINITIONS
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
CURRENT CONFUSION
INTERINDIVIDUAL SCALE-BY-SCALE COMPARISONS
FACTOR ANALYSIS/PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS ANALYSIS OF IPSATIVE SCORES
ALLEGED OVERESTIMATION OF RELIABILITY
ALLEGED OVERESTIMATION OF VALIDITY BY IPSATIVE MEASURES
Criterion-related validity
Construct validity
NON-INDEPENDENCE OF IPSATIVE SCALE SCORES
ITEM FORMAT
NORMS